Foreign relations of Denmark

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Denmark

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Denmark

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The Crown: Margrethe II Council of State Parliament Speaker: Christian Mejdahl Government Prime Minister - Former PMs Anders Fogh Rasmussen Former governments

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Danish foreign policy is founded upon four cornerstones: the United Nations, NATO, the EU, and Nordic cooperation. Denmark also is a member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the Council of Europe; the Nordic Council; the Baltic Council; and the Barents Council. Denmark emphasizes its relations with developing nations and is one of the few countries to exceed the UN goal of contributing 1% of GNP to development assistance.

In the wake of the Cold War, Denmark has been active in international efforts to integrate the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the West. It has played a leadership role in coordinating Western assistance to the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The country is a strong supporter of international peacekeeping. Danish forces were heavily engaged in the former Yugoslavia in the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR), with IFOR, and now SFOR.

Following World War II, Denmark ended its two-hundred year long policy of neutrality. Denmark has been a member of NATO since its founding in 1949, and membership in NATO remains highly popular. There were several serious confrontations between the U.S. and Denmark on security policy in the so-called "footnote era" (1982-88), when a hostile parliamentary majority forced the government to adopt specific national positions on nuclear and arms control issues. With the end of the Cold War, however, Denmark has been supportive of U.S. policy objectives in the Alliance. Denmark is not a member of the Western European Union but does hold observer status.

Danes have enjoyed a reputation as "reluctant" Europeans. When they rejected ratification of the Maastricht Treaty on June 2, 1992, they put the EC's plans for the European Union on hold. In December 1992, the rest of the EC agreed to exempt Denmark from certain aspects of the European Union, including a common defense, a common currency, EU citizenship, and certain aspects of legal cooperation. The Amsterdam Treaty was approved in the referendum of May 28, 1998. In the autumn of 2000, Danish citizens rejected membership of the Euro currency group in a referendum.

[edit] Disputes - international:

• Rockall. A continental shelf dispute involving Iceland, Ireland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

• Hans Island. An island located between Greenland and Canadian Arctic islands. Unresolved boundary disputed between Canada and Denmark (Denmark controls Greenland's foreign relations). This dispute flared up again in July 2005 following the visit of a Canadian minister to the disputed island.

• North Pole. Denmark is trying to prove that the North Pole is geographically connected to Greenland. If such proof is established, Denmark will claim the North Pole.

• Maritime border with Poland. Denmark and Poland have still not agreed on the location of the maritime border between the two countries. Denmark supports a border half-way between the two countries; Poland wants to be awarded an even greater share of the Baltic Sea, since Poland has a much longer coast-line than the Danish island of Bornholm.

[edit] See also

• Denmark
• Scandinavian defense union
• Danish diplomatic missions

[edit] External link

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark